The Government Employees Pension Fund recognises the importance of having a consistent, accessible and impartial process for dealing efficiently and effectively with complaints. The fund recognises that the formal and informal complaints process must be fair and professional. The Office of the Government Employees Pension Ombudsman has been established to fulfil this purpose.
Purpose of the Ombudsman
The purpose of the Office of the Government Employees Pension Ombudsman is to establish a mechanism for members of the Government Employees Pension Fund and their beneficiaries to lodge complaints against the fund and for GEPO to provide investigate, consider, determine and resolve the complaints. The jurisdiction of the Ombudsman is to:
- Receive complaints about alleged acts or omissions.
- Exercise discretion to accept or decline to act on a complaint.
- Act on the ombudsman’s own initiative to address issues within the ombudsman’s prescribed jurisdiction.
- Operate by fair and timely procedures to aid in the just resolution of a complaint.
- Gather relevant information.
- function by such means as:
- Investigating and issuing determinations
- Making recommendations for the resolution of a complaint or a systemic
- Identifying complaint patterns and trends.
- Educating.
- Advocating on behalf of affected individuals or groups when specifically authorized by the board.
- Initiate litigation to enforce or protect the authority of the office, as otherwise provided by these standards, or as required by law.